The millennium goals 2015

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Develop a global partnership for development

About MDG
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development challenges. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was signed by 189 nations, including 147 heads of states and governments during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

India has been moderately successful in reducing poverty the Poverty Headcount Ratio which is estimated to reach 18.6% by 2015 (according to the Government of India MDG Report 2009) is likely to miss the target by about 3.5 percentage points. However eradicating hunger remains a key challenge. The proportion of population that has a dietary energy consumption of below the permissible standards of 2,100-2,400 kcal has risen from 64% in 1987-88 to 76% in 2004-05. Malnourishment is also an indicator of food insecurity. In 1990 when the MDGs were formulated 53.5% of all Indian children were malnourished. Since then, progress has been slow. In India the proportion of underweight children below three years has declined by only 1% between 1998-99 and 2005-06 to 46%. It is estimated that malnourishment could decline to 40% by 2015, this would be below the goal of reducing malnourishment to 28.6%.

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Indias Status
India is on-track and in some cases, ahead of targets that relate to universalizing primary education in India. Gross Enrolment Rates for both girls and boys in 2006-07 crossed 100%. The emphasis on achieving universal primary education can be found in a range of government schemes:

Eleventh Five-Year Plan Goals

Reduce dropout rates of children at the elementary level from 52.2% in 200304 to 20% by 201112. Develop minimum standards of educational attainment in elementary schools, to ensure quality education. Increase the literacy rate for persons of age 7 years or more to 85% by 2011 12. Reduce the gender gap in literacy to 10 percentage points by 2011 12. Increase the percentage of each cohort going to higher education from the present 10% to 15% by 2011 12.

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Indias status
India missed the 2005 deadline of eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education. However the country has hastened progress and the Gender Parity Index (GPI) for Gross enrolment Ratios (GER) in primary and secondary education has risen. Given current trends, India is moderately or almost nearly on track.

However as the Government of India MDG Report 2009 notes participation of women in employment and decision making remains far less than that of men and the disparity is not likely to be elimina ted by 2015. Achieving GPI in tertiary education remains a challenge and labour market openness to women in industry and services has increased by only 6 percentage points, from 13% to 18% between 1990-91 and 2004-05.

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

The fourth Millennium Development Goal aims to reduce by mortality among children under five by twothirds. Indias Under Five Mortality (U5MR) declined from 125 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 74.6 per 1,000 live births in 2005-06. U5MR is expected to further decline to 70 per 1,000 live births by 2015. This means India would still fall short of the target of 42 per 1,000 live births by 2015. Child survival needs to sharper focus. This includes better managing neonatal and childhood illnesses and improving child survival, particularly among vulnerable communities. Survival risk remains a key challenge for the disadvantaged who have little access to reproductive and child health services. Major states in the heartland of India are likely to fall significantly short of these targets, by more than 20 points. Key to significant progress in reducing U5MR and infant mortality rates rests with reducing at a fast pace, neonatal deaths that is, infant deaths that occur in within a year of birth.

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health

Indias Status
From a Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) of 437 per 100,000 live births in 1990-91, India is required to reduce MMR to 109 per 100,000 live births by 2015. Between 1990 and 2006, there has been some improvement in the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) which has declined to 254 per 100,000 live births as compared to 327 in 1990. However despite this progress, India is expected to fall short of the 2015 target by 26 points. Safe motherhood depends on the delivery by trained personnel, particularly through institutional facilities. However delivery in institutional facilities has risen slowly from 26% in 1992-93 to 47% in 2007-08. Consequently, deliveries by skilled personnel have increased at the same pace, from 33% to 52% in the same period. By 2015 India is expected to be able to ensure only 62% of births occur in institutional facilities with trained personnel. Thus universal coverage remains to be achieved.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

India has made significant strides in reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS across different types of high risk categories. Eighty-six percent of transmissions of HIV/AIDS in India are caused by sexual activity. Much of this decline can be attributed to greater awareness and increasing condom use. Adult prevalence has come down from 0.34% in 2007 to 0.45% in 2002. Malaria both in terms of prevalence and death has declined. Malaria diagnosis has declined from 1.745 in 2005 to 1.52% in 2009. Further, malaria prone states such as the North Eastern states, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan and West Bengal have recorded fewer malaria deaths since 2006. India accounts for one-fifth of the global incidence of tuberculosis (TB) but India has made progress in halting its prevalence. Treatment success rates have remained steady at 86-87% over the last five years and prevalence of TB has steadily declined.

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

India has made some progress towards the Seventh Millennium Development Goal of ensuring environmental sustainability. Forest cover has increased to 21.02% and protected areas cover about 4.83% of the countrys total land area. Reducing the energy intensity of GDP growth through higher energy efficiency will be ke y to achieving energy security.

India is on-track in achieving the MDG target for sustainable access to safe drinking water. The overall proportion of households having access to improved water sources increased from 68.2% in 1992-93 to 84.4% in 2007-08. However India one of the most densely populated countrys in the world has not recorded similar progress in improving sanitation facilities over the last decade. The proportions of households without toilet facilities declined from 70% in 1992-93 to about 51% in 2007-08. At current progress, the country is unlikely to achieve the target of reducing the proportion of household s having no access to sanitation to 38% by 2015. The rural urban gap in access and use of sanitation facility continues to be very high. Sixty-six percent of rural households do not have toilet facilities as against 19% of urban households in 2007-08.

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Target 8a: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction both nationally and internationally Target 8b: Address the special needs of the least developed countries Includes: tariff and quota free access for the least developed countries' exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA for countries committed to poverty reduction Target 8c: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States (through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly) Target 8d: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term